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The wire service Reuters has been caught cropping out important details from photos taken aboard the Mavi Marmara. Of course, that's the ship in the pro-terrorist flotilla that was intercepted on its way to assist Hamas-ruled Gaza that put up a deadly fight.

The way Reuters cropped the photos depicted practically all the terrorists without weapons. But bloggers, such as Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs, caught on when a Turkish newspaper posted the full pictures. And, lo and behold, once the full photos were shown, it appears that these so called "peace activists" are nothing of the sort. The photos show wounded Israeli soldiers being attacked by knife-wielding thugs, with their lives clearly at risk.

Someone at Reuters apparently realizes the bloody version of these pictures, which may boost support for the militant Islamist group among fellow Islamists, might have an entirely different impact on Western audiences. The photographs support Israel's version of events that emphasizes soldiers shot in self-defense to protect themselves from a violent mob. The opposing account claiming a group of non-violent "peace activists" were cut down by Israeli fire is evidently more in line with the version Reuters has typically preferred.

It's pretty deceptive that a news organization, especially one that passes as reputable, would try to fool its consumers in such a politically charged manner. (For the record: It doesn't appear that the Associate Press tried to pull off the same stunt.)